NHL Scores: Islanders blow out Bruins, Capitals top Penguins and more
Anthony Scultore
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The Islanders (10-6-3) took advantage of the Bruins (11-4-2) last night with a few blue-liners out of the lineup. Jeremy Lauzon, Kevan Miller, and Matt Grzelcyk are all nursing injuries for Boston and it showed last night.
NHL Scores: Islanders score 7 against depleted Bruins defense
Mathew Barzal scored a goal and added an assist in the Islanders 7-2 romp over the Bruins. It was a game where seven different Islanders lit the lamp including Anthony Beauvillier who scored his first of the season.
“That’s nice, I love seeing him smile,” Barzal said of Beauvillier. “He loves scoring, so whenever he gets one or a guy like that who hasn’t had one yet and he gets one, that’s definitely a big boost for the bench. Everyone loves seeing him score.”
With the win, the Islanders are just one point out of first in the East Division. Boston comes right back at it tonight facing a beleaguered Rangers team without Artemi Panarin on a leave of absence.
NHL Scores: Capitals pick up rare win against the Penguins
Tom Wilson broke the 2-2 tie in the third period and the Capitals (10-5-4) went on to win 5-2 (10-7-1) against the Penguins. The game-winner came on the PP with Kris Letang sans stick in hand.
“When a guy loses a stick it’s another advantage in our favor,” Wilson said of the fortuitous situation. “We were able to execute and it was in the back of the net. That’s a fortunate break for us, but at the end of the day we’ve still got to put it in, and the power play did a good job to do that.”
The Caps for all their struggles at times this season are tied with the Bruins for first place in the East Division.
In other divisional action. the Devils (7-6-2) defeated the Sabres (6-8-3) in OT 4-3. The game winner came off the blade of Pavel Zacha who notched his 5th of the year. For Buffalo, they lost Linus Ullmark mid-way through the game, and Jack Eichel was a scratch after warmups. The situation in Buffalo is becoming extremely tenuous.
NHL Scores: Canadiens lose in new coach debut
The Canadiens (9-6-4) blew a 2-0 lead to the Jets (12-6-1) and fell 6-3 after firing Claude Julien. Kyle Connor led the offense last night scoring twice (9,10) and Pierre Luc-Dubois also added a goal and an assist to the cause.
“I think I saw the guys playing better in the first half of the game, and then we cracked,” new Habs coach Dominique Ducharme said. “So we’ve got to be playing the same way that we started.”
This can’t be pleasing to GM Marc Bergevin who spent a boatload of money this past offseason to improve. If the Canadiens don’t fix this, one has to wonder if he won’t be the next to fall.
In other divisional play Connor McDavid scored his 14th of the season and added an assist. McDavid leads the NHL in scoring with 40 points. The Oilers (14-8) 3-0 win over the Canucks (8-14-2) gives them 5 straight wins and propels them to second place. The Senators (7-14-1) also beat the Flames (9-10-2) 6-1 last night.
NHL Scores: Panthers win to stay in first place
The Panthers (13-4-2) picked up a 3-2 win over the Stars (6-5-4) to maintain a one point lead on first place in the Central. Aleksander Barkov picked up his 8th goal in the victory.
Meanwhile, the Lightning (13-4-1) kept pace and have sole possession of second place with a 3-1 win over the Hurricanes (12-6-1). Mikhail Sergachev scored his doest of the year for Tampa.
Divisional action closed out with the Blackhawks (11-6-4) blanking the Blue Jackets (8-8-5) 2-0 and the Red Wings (6-13-3) taking out the Predators (8-11) by a 5-2 score.